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Notice of Intent to establish Negotiated Rulemaking Committee

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By Marlene Seeklander The Department of Education is seeking nominations for individuals to serve on the upcoming Negotiated Rulemaking Committee. A January 27 Federal Register Notice outlined the intent to establish a Negotiated Rulemaking Committee that will prepare proposed regulations focusing on accrediting agencies and related institutional eligibility requirements under Title IV of the Higher Education […]

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FAFSA Specifications Guides

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By Marlene Seeklander Because the FAFSA Specifications Guides are such a useful tool, financial aid professionals will want to make note of several recent updates to both the 2025-26 and 2026-27 guides. The Department of Education recently announced updates to several important volumes of the guides, such as Volume 5 – Edits and Rejects and Volume 6

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Mapping Your Future Higher Ed News – January 22, 2026

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Higher Ed News Vol. 18 – Issue 2 Registration for the 2026 FSA Training Conference requires action by January 23 Schools interested in attending the upcoming Federal Student Aid (FSA) Conference need to act by January 23 to express interest in attending. Department delays collections on student loans Borrowers, who have defaulted on the federal

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Acceptable identity verification methods

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By Marlene Seeklander Identity theft is a problem worldwide creating high costs and damaging reputations for companies, organizations, and even higher education institutions.   Last summer, the Department of Education announced a nationwide effort to eliminate identity theft and fraud in the federal student aid programs by requiring that schools verify the identity of additional first-time applicants who complete FAFSA. This is done through V4 and V5 verification.   Schools have some flexibility in how they verify student

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Department issues updated signature requirements for the Program Participation Agreement

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By Marlene Seeklander In response to a legal challenge, the Department of Education revised the requirements for an authorized representative of an institution to sign the agreement to participate in federal financial aid programs. In a January 16 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education addressed the situations in which an owner-entity of an eligible higher education

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Direct vs. indirect costs for college

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By Marlene Seeklander When planning to pay for college, students and parents need to consider both direct and indirect costs. Direct and indirect costs are an important part of the estimated cost of attendance. And while financial aid can cover both types of college expenses, indirect costs is an area where students and parents can save

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Department delays collections on student loans

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By Catherine Mueller Borrowers, who have defaulted on the federal student loans, received a temporary reprieve recently with a decision to delay collections activities. On January 16, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) announced that it will delay the implementation of involuntary collections on federal student loans, including Administrative Wage Garnishment (AWG) and the Treasury

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Registration for the 2026 FSA Training Conference requires action by January 23

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By Marlene Seeklander Schools interested in attending the upcoming Federal Student Aid (FSA) Conference need to act by January 23 to express interest in attending. On January 14, FSA announced that due to the limited number of seats at the conference site, they will hold a lottery if interest exceeds the number of seats available. The

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